mardi 30 septembre 2003
Burnt out
Gerrard posted about this a while ago but his archives are gone... so I will just post what he post originally.
BURN OUT is a condition which keeps you from doing what God wants you to do. I believe that students are under terrible amounts of stress. School, peer pressure, acceptance, family, sports, girl/boyfriends, I can go on and on, and there are many things in life that "burn us out". Some of you are burnt out on Church, always having to be at this or that for Church. Burnout can affect you mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. How can we give to others when our wells are dry?So I figure I must be really burnt out if I'm borrowing my friend's notes from class and he writes a special comment to me under the line "slow down a bit so that you don't miss opportunities and don't burn out". That and the fact that I have symptoms #1-4 and 6-9. And that I am so overcommitted that I'm letting people down. Good news though, I dropped the soccer team at school because it was interfering with my youth. And God finally answered my prayer regarding El Salvador... I'm not called to go there. I think He wants me to focus on Montana and my youth and school and my field lab and the yearbook and my tech work.
Burnout is a very serious thing for young people today. Because when you become stressed out or burnt out you become useless or at least that's the way you feel. You begin to think that you are the only one who cares or is hurting and everyone else is happy and satisfied with their life. You feel like there is not enough time in the day to accomplish anything. You have no time to relax. If you are burnt out, you may have some of these symptoms.
1. Exhausted all the time no matter how long you sleep or nap.
2. Feel isolated from other people, and even yourself, to the extent of becoming a loner.
3. Feel ineffective, no matter what you do.
4. Angry at little things.
5. Loss of sympathy for others people's problems – even when it's your job to be sympathetic.
6. Feel trapped.
7. Doubt or become discouraged.
8. No sense of humour.
9. Physical problems (back, neck, headaches, fatigue).
10. Have an increased interest to activities that could lead to addiction.
lundi 29 septembre 2003
The word is mum
All I will say is... Operation B.O.O.F. Retaliation (friendly retaliation) is ON! Let the games begin :) Details to come after Saturday!
My new goal right now is to cut down on television. I learned this weekend that television = loss of community in one's life and relational disconnection. I want my purpose in life to be loving others to Jesus rather than simply entertaining myself.
Wrapping up
Well today I helped clean out the office to get it ready for our missions pastor. I got to take home a bunch of file folders (geek!) and some sports ministry stuff to donate to my school. I guess I'm kind of going backwards here, I had class this morning and then headed to church where I burned all of the stuff I've done over the years onto a disc so it can be cleared off the network. And you know what? My hardest class this semester has to be youth homiletics! I may dislike history and all that, but at least it's crammable material - but preaching to kids? That just has me shaking in my shoes. Give me a lesson and I can teach it but expect their undivided attention for 15-45 minutes?! AHHHH!
I finally have a copy of all the pictures I've taken over the years! And once I get some kids' permission to post them, check out all the cool stuff we've done :)
Libellés : work
dimanche 28 septembre 2003
Sound familiar?
Tonight was an extended night of worship at church, which was really nice to have back again for September, since it was cancelled during the summer months. It's just so wonderful being in His presence, singing songs of praise and declaring our love for Him!
Earlier in the service as we were singing a song, these words just jumped out to me:
"For what do I have if I don't have you Jesus?
What in this life could mean anymore?"
- Starfield "Cry In My Heart"
And in my head, I was trying to picture what my life would have been like if my friend had never told me about Him and if I had never accepted Him into my life. It was such a horrible thought but the stark contrast between my life now and what my life could have ended up like completely sobered me. I realized how truly carnal I was and how without God's grace transforming me, I would still be that person living a selfish and world-chasing life. I am still the trace of that person, but having Jesus in my life... it just... words can't describe it but I am no longer who I was. And that is the most powerful testimony I think anyone can have - the evidence of a life that is so radically changed by Jesus that the old person doesn't even resemble the new.
Now I must go to bed. My pastor pointed out in his sermon today that sleep is a gift from God. And my friends point out to me all the time how I never get enough of it. So now I have the best excuse ever, hallelujah!
"In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat -
for he grants sleep to those he loves."
- Psalm 127:2
Libellés : church
Amazing Love
I'm forgiven because You were forsaken,
I'm accepted, You were condemned,
I'm alive and well, Your spirit is within me
Because You died and rose again.
Amazing love, how can it be?
That You my King would die for me?
Amazing love, I know it's true,
And it's my joy to honour You,
In all I do; I'll honour You.
You are my King, You are my King.
Jesus, You are my King. Jesus, You are my King.
- Billy Foote
Libellés : songs
samedi 27 septembre 2003
Feeling diseased
Class was great this morning; I can't wait to be a church member now! The video concept worked well too (we got out an hour earlier) and I get to talk to the editor about it soon (and possibly help out on the other ones too!). Afterwards, I got to go to a play my friend is acting in and someone else I know who is technical directing it: The Diseased Vignettes. It was hilarious and the second act just had us rolling with laughter! They have their final show tonight @ 7:30pm so if you want to see an excellent play about a hypochondriac and a chronophobiac, make sure to go to the Engineered Air Theatre. Here's a review :)
Jeremy wrote about the film festival today which I completely forgot about until I read his blog. I'm trying to find information on tickets for non-CIFF members, but I can't find any... which isn't good since I want to go to a few films! The great thing is that all of the venues are downtown - in pretty close proximity to each other. There's a film I want to see in the Youth Film Series called "What Do You Believe?" but I'm wondering if it's only for school screenings. I'd also like to see the "Hot Shorts", "Seeing is Believing", and "Bonhoeffer". That would be cool if I could see all that!
vendredi 26 septembre 2003
Blogosphere
Let's see from the blogroll what some people have been up to!
- Carly is back from her Blogger-rebellion, yay!
- Michelle is starting a project mail-a-thon and is contemplating where to live.
- Matt wonders if he looks like Richard Gere or James van der Beek.
- Tracy gets onto her soapbox again, but I appreciate what she has to say!
- Trevor makes a man pie.
- Matt is having a grand time on his Barnabas Team learning tons about God.
- Coqui is proud to march to the beat of a different drum - and shares her creative gifts with everyone along the way!
- Gerrard has a hilarious list of rules that women should follow!
***
Tonight was a worship event for the youth at church. All I can say is God's presence was definitely felt there. It was another night of 'unquenchable songs and endless praise' for me; I just wanted to sing all night long without ceasing. I was also able to clear stuff up between God and me and I just felt like a huge burden was lifted off my shoulders.
This is such a striking statement, I hope it's alright that I quote it:
"A couple of days ago it hit me that forgiveness like GOD requires isn't just about swallowing it up (the problem) or keeping it inside. It's airing it out, looking at it, facing it, and still being able to say to that person: "I forgive you." I have not reached that point yet. But I know my GOD. And I know HE has reached that point with me."
- Coqui from far too easily satisfied
That is something I've been having the hardest time with lately; in fact it's been my biggest struggle. I guess I'm not doing myself a favour by bottling it up inside but I'm afraid of what I'll do if it comes out. Sigh, life is so frustrating sometimes. Thank goodness we have a God who understands exactly what it's like! Anyways, gotta go - I have a class tomorrow and I get to watch my friend act in a play downtown :)
Libellés : blogging
jeudi 25 septembre 2003
Whoa
I found out today that my church had a big scare this weekend. Please pray for a hedge of protection around the church and all its congregants and staff. I won't go into specifics since some of the media has already portrayed my church as something different than it really is, and I don't feel like having to respond to that.
Something I've been meaning to say for a while: If I hear or read the words "emergent" and "postmodern" one more time, I will scream, literally!
I've heard this song all summer and we've been singing it for a few weeks in youth and I love it!
"Hold me in Your arms
Never let me go
I wanna spend eternity with You
And now that You're near
Everything is different
Everything's so different, Lord
And I know I'm not the same
My life You've changed
And I wanna be with You
I wanna be with You"
- United Live "To The Ends of the Earth"
Libellés : songs
mercredi 24 septembre 2003
Textbook cost
Have I ever mentioned how incredibly grateful I am that my college textbooks really aren't that expensive after all? I used to think so but this has changed my mind:
Language of the New Testament
(The following texts are all required)
Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament - Bauer, Gingrich, Danker - 239.99
Language of the New Testament - Goetchius, Eugene Van Ness - 66.95
Language of the New Testament Workbook - Goetchius, Eugene Van Ness - 40.95
comes to the lovely total of: 372.24, GST included! Ouch!!
I'm thankful my costs are substantially lower - all of my textbooks for this whole semester cost 45% of the price for this one class! Granted, I did borrow three history books from a friend but still, even that total would come to 74% of this price! How can anyone afford to be a college student, much less a Bible college student?!
Archives are back up... thanks Blogger. As are comments!
Schooling
Just found out my friend Cami plans on going to VFS! That is so cool; she's going to have a great time there! It's supposed to be one of the best or probably THE best film school in all of Canada. One of my friends from high school ended up going there too. I'm sure he'll be a famous producer/director/editor/whatever he wants to do with his talent soon. I figured I should post this as a reminder so I wouldn't forget to apply soon to the program I'm hoping to get into. And until I do, I won't mention which one it is (although I've already told some people). :)
Last night, my church had our youth missions meeting in my college chapel (convenient hey?) which I got to miss class for. I guess I was kind of flippantly saying yesterday that I was allowed to skip class for this, which was really stupid of me to say. I should have said that I was able to skip class for this and not that I was allowed. Ugh, I can be so retarded when I talk. And hopefully people don't think I like to skip (even though I was really excited that I could last night) because I don't, but I got to see my kids at the meeting, which is totally better than class right? Oh yeah!
Oh and another change in missions - the grade 10s won't be going to Montréal this year, it's been changed to Montana! So it's funny that I was supposed to be going to Montréal twice this year but now I'm not at all. Instead, it'll be Montana and possibly El Salvador... hmm not sure about the latter just yet but I've been praying about it!
I had today off from school because of a cancelled class so I got to run some errands with my mom. I was standing in line forever today and I remembered that when I was in elementary school and waited in lines, I would always say to myself in my head: "Zero the hero, first the worst, second the best....". And that's all I would remember! So I looked on the net and found a few weird endings:
"Third the dirty donkey"
"Third the one with the hairy chest"
"Third the nerd"
"Third the turd"
"Third the golden bird"
"Third the nerd the golden bird"
"Fourth the golden eagle"
"Fourth the king"
"Fourth the dork"
"Fourth the angel"
"Fifth the witch in the ditch"
"Fifth the queen"
"Fifth the ghost"
"Sixth the one in the washing machine"
"Sixth the one who burnt the toast"
So which is the accurate one? Or which one do you remember saying all the time when you were younger? I guess you could mish-mash all of these together somehow too! Drop me a comment and let me know so that my memory lapse can be restored, thanks!
Libellés : college
mardi 23 septembre 2003
Church membership
I am so excited, I'm taking the first step this weekend towards becoming a church member! Members are required to take a class about the church and I've been putting this off for so long that I decided to do it now, while I still had the time! But wow, I can't wait until I get to belong to a church "officially" (not that I already don't... but you get the picture!). My friend and I always said that we'd wait until we got married so that we could become members of our church with our future husbands (whoever they are) but that seems like so far away. Maybe I'm too antsy and I just want to declare to everyone that this is the body of Christ I belong to, that God has called me to. But I also wonder if I should wait so that my future husband and I will be able to proclaim our commitment to our church body together. Am I being too impatient? This is a pretty big deal to me, becoming a church member. I just have to figure out if I'll do it now or later.
As if I didn't already have enough troubles with Blogger, now all my archives are gone!! I hate to complain but I have a small blog... how can archives disappear out of nowhere? *Whine, sniffle*
Libellés : church
lundi 22 septembre 2003
Here am I. Send me!
We had a great chapel service today on Isaiah 6 and it refueled my passion for reaching the lost and for missions. I'm facing a rather difficult decision right now. I was supposed to help lead the missions team to Montréal this year but plans have changed and I've been asked to go to El Salvador instead. I'm struggling to figure out if God is calling me to help serve in this country. As someone said earlier today, "I don't want to go for my purposes, I want to go for God's glory". And I need to make sure that this is where God is sending me to.
Well I've been putting off a paper that's due tomorrow for a while now. Procrastination has still got a reign on my life, unfortunately. *Sidenote* I need to reread C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters". Anyways, on an unrelated topic, this post made me smile today. It reminds me of the anticipation and the hope my friends and I have in our lives. I sometimes forget that Christians all over the world go through this too!
Libellés : college
samedi 20 septembre 2003
Canada's Marriage Controversy
If you are Canadian, go here to see how your MP voted on the issue of same-sex marriages. This issue is important for all Christians in Canada. I read some editorials about how same-sex marriages aren't hurting anybody and how it doesn't affect those who aren't in this lifestyle. Untrue! If all of this passes officially and becomes law in Canada soon, then pastors in churches can get sued or imprisoned because they refuse to perform same-sex marriages. The Bible can be deemed as hate literature because it condemns sexual deviation and proclaims that this lifestyle is wrong. Churches can be shut down because they refuse to step on their convictions of what marriage should be like by not allowing or recognizing same-sex marriages. Do you see where this is leading to?! The government will be interfering in the affairs of the church!! The same government who strongly adheres to "the separation between church and state" will now be imposing their definition of marriage on a sacred act that strictly belongs to the church! They have got it all wrong; this separation between the church and the state was never intended for the church to get out of the state's affairs but the other way around - to ensure that the state could never infringe on the rights of the church! Well, isn't Canada going down the hole now.
Above all, I think the most important thing any Christian can do is to pray.
Libellés : Canada
vendredi 19 septembre 2003
Lack of time
In between college, ministry and life - I find I have less time to work on my blog! But I really want to stick it out and add the changes and fix the problems so far. I tried yesterday but Blogger wasn't cooperating, so after a few hours of frustration I reverted back to what I had before. Hopefully after my English paper is done I will be able to!
Friday Five:
1. Who is your favourite singer/musician? Why?
This one is obvious :) For those of you who know where my blog title comes from, you have an advantage to guessing what I'll say. Nah it's not too much of one since I mention them so often in my blog! But my favourite musical group (which is made up of musicians!) is Starfield and they rock because their main focus is on worshipping God and giving Him praise. That's it - they're not there for the glitz or glamour - but rather to support the local church and use their gifts for God's glory!
2. What one singer/musician you cannot stand? Why?
I cannot stand Creed, a postmodern band who may have had Christian influences, but is not a Christian group looking to glorify God through their music. This is an excerpt of a letter I wrote to the Christian radio station in town regarding their music being played on it:This is what they have themselves said regarding the question of if they are a Christian band:
"Is Creed a Christian band?"
"[It's] a question we're asked a lot because of some of the references made in the lyrics," lead singer Scott Stapp explains on the group's official Web site. "No, we are not a Christian band. A Christian band has an agenda to lead others to believe in their specific religious beliefs. We have no agenda!"
But we as Christians, ARE called by God to have an agenda, and that agenda is to proclaim the truth of who God is through everything we do in life. I have a hard time understanding why Shine (local Christian radio station) feels they would have to resort to playing Creed on a radio station that is supposed to "shine" for Christ. Hearing songs like "Six Feet Under" only shows the hopelessness that people have without Jesus, but what about the hope that Christians do have? I am not opposed to music like Creed's where they are honestly searching for the truth, but why bother playing music that hasn't found the truth yet when Shine is supposed to be a station that knows the truth and is spreading it for those who don't know it yet? This seems to be contrary to the whole point of a Christian radio station.
"We all have different beliefs in this band," Stapp recently told USA Today. "I mean, all three of us have faith, and I think we all believe there is a God. And there is definitely an intent to point people in a positive direction, and in some songs, that is to have faith and to lean on God when times get tough. But it's not a Christian God or a Buddhist God or a Muslim God. It's the God I see when I look at my little boy. It's the God I see in nature."
Again, this goes against what the Bible teaches. In a sense, by promoting Creed's music on your station, you are endorsing their music and the beliefs behind it that creates that music. Try this for a second, juxtapose playing a Creed song beside a worship song that praises God for sending His son. It just seems awkward and contradictory. While I think it's wonderful that Christian artists are going into the mainstream world, I find it upsetting that secular artists can enter the Christian world. I would think that this would be a definite stumbling block to those who are exploring the Christian faith and hear Creed on a Christian radio station, then goes and finds out their beliefs and either assumes that that is what Christians believe or think that Christians contradict each other once they find out their true beliefs. I think you would be doing a great thing by pulling Creed off, and leaving their music to influence those who are still searching for God but haven't found him yet. As for your station, I think the goal should be to be a light to others through music that has the purpose of lifting God's name on high.
I agree with what Bob Waliszewski wrote on Plugged In: "Lots of searching, but positive statements are well overshadowed by an outright rejection of biblical truth. Stapp says, "If it weren't for music, I might have ended up some crazed street preacher. Rock-n-roll is my religion." Not exactly the narrow path."
3. If your favourite singer wasn't in the music business, do you think you would still like him/her as a person?
Of course! It's not about their occupation but who they are in Christ, and they are fellow worshippers of God!
4. Have you been to any concerts? If yes, who put on the best show?
I've been to lots (see sidebar - "In Concert" for all the ones I've gone to). But the best would have to be Starfield. I've been to three of their concerts. The first one was great as was the third (except we had to leave early....). The second one would have been better if I weren't wearing earplugs backstage but the look on their faces when they found out they won "artist of the year" was priceless - and I have the claim to fame of being the only one to see that, hehe!
5. What are your thoughts on downloading free music online vs. purchasing albums? Do you feel the RIAA is right in its pursuit to stop people from dowloading free music?
Oh boy, I could write another long speel about this, but I won't. I think that no matter what, people will always download free music from the net (not that this makes it right, believe me, I'm not saying that at all!). I personally don't download music but I can't afford to buy new CDs all the time either, so this leaves me in a bind, which I'm sure others are in too! I agree that something should be paid, because this is how artists are making their living, but I don't think that prosecuting teenagers for downloading music because they can't afford $20+/album is right either. I don't see a solution in the near future, but hopefully something can be resolved soon because music is so integral to the expression of oneself in life. How can that be denied due to people not having money but how can that be denied to the musicians trying to create it? I realize I haven't really set a position in this little note, but it's something I'll have to think about some more.
Libellés : Friday Five
mercredi 17 septembre 2003
New
... catchphrase: "__________ is a place that is charged with significance and is dripping with the elixir of life." (Spread that one around!)
... baby: Congrats to Ang and Ty on their little bundle of joy - a beautiful little baby girl born on Saturday the 13th!
... look: to this blog, thanks to Tracy and her incredible work :)
... mercies: I see [morning by morning], all I have needed Thy hand hath provided; great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
mardi 16 septembre 2003
Humbling
I was really humbled today when one of my pastors pointed out something in my life that has not been good. I realized that I have been very sarcastic (something I wasn't even aware of until he told me) and that I need to watch my speech. I am so thankful that I have a pastor who can tell me anything. I didn't know that I hurt a lot of people with my flippant comments, so now that I'm in the know, I have no excuse. Wow, do I need to seek forgiveness from a lot of people now!
lundi 15 septembre 2003
Comments
I wish every blog had a commenting system included. I just read one of the blogs I drop by regularly and saw that this guy was visiting my church tonight and that he really enjoyed the service. It's so neat to read someone else's perspective on a sermon and I wanted to leave a note, but there was no contact info.
Anyways, I have school tomorrow morning and I need to sleep now. It's pretty late since I hung out with some youth leaders after the youth service. Loooong day today - back to my 15+ hours at church on a Sunday all over again from 7am till 11:30pm. And for once, I can kind of sleep in, thanks God! :)
Libellés : blogging
samedi 13 septembre 2003
Kids rule!
We had a great turnout last night for our sr high kickoff event and I had a blast reconnecting with students again - and watching them sing their hearts out at karaoke :) Today was the youth workers training day, and it was a great success. God totally answered our prayers for more leaders and coaches, and I was so amazed to see about 80 people show up (and we were still missing people!) today. Afterwards, we all went for dinner at the OSF and I got to observe a bunch of guy leaders give each other wet willies, which was quite entertaining.
"I am Your servant, God.
Where You want me to go, I will go.
Point the direction. Show me the way.
You called me to work with young people.
They want to hear Your voice, God.
They want to know You.
Help me show them the Creator of the Universe.
Send me enthusiasm when I don't feel enthusiastic.
Send me patience when I'm out of it.
Send me large shoulders to lean and cry on.
Send me ears to hear the things that aren't being said.
Send me eyes to see beneath the surface.
Send me words to say when they ask the hard questions.
Give me the ability to laugh at myself.
I am your servant, God.
Where you want me to go, I will go.
Point the direction. Show me the way.
Amen."
- The Youthworkers Prayer "Book of Uncommon Prayer"
Libellés : youth ministry
vendredi 12 septembre 2003
Brutal!
My church's youth website that I worked on for countless hours last year was wiped clean! I am a little hurt, because they didn't even let me know that and I didn't find out until I checked it today. Man, I had a great intro and everything and it's completely gone!
Anyways, the Friday Five today is pretty interesting:
1. Is the name you have now the same name that's on your birth certificate? If not, what's changed?
Sure is. And will be until I get married.
2. If you could change your name (first, middle and/or last), what would it be?
I actually like my name, but I know that my last name will change eventually.
3. Why were you named what you were? (Is there a story behind it? Who specifically was responsible for naming you?)
A good friend of my parents' actually came up with the name. My parents couldn't think of any so they asked him and he came up with a whole list of them and they picked the one that they thought sounded the nicest.
4. Are there any names you really hate or love? What are they and why?
There are some great names, and those will be the ones I hope to name my kids one day. The only ones I really dislike are, to be honest, the names of people who have left an unsavory memory of themselves in my mind.
5. Is the analysis of your name accurate? How or how isn't it?
Astrology is evil so I didn't go to that site. And obviously triggur is wrong about me in every way. And after coming from cults class today, I don't wish to know what my name means when "eastern wisdom merges with western practicality". (Yes I am being cynical today). But the meaning of my name is pretty cool.
Libellés : Friday Five
jeudi 11 septembre 2003
Blogger
...is driving me up the wall! Why does my page length end wherever my side bar does? I'm running out of things to fill my sidebar with so that it won't cut off my previous posts, but unfortunately, I've lost half of August so far. Argh, any tech suggestions?
Libellés : blogging
mercredi 10 septembre 2003
Horrible news!
It's a sad sad day in Canada folks. Billy Klippert was voted off of Canadian Idol. Can I scream injustice?! He had genuine talent and was brave enough to sing the songs that he wanted to, and not just what would have been 'safe' to get by in the competition. Yes, I know it's a TV show, but if someone is willing to do that on television, then they must have strong convictions to remain who they are no matter what, definitely a quality worth emulating. A growing problem now is that people are compromising to the point where they have lost themselves in this age of tolerance and wishy-washiness.
Libellés : Canada
mardi 9 septembre 2003
What a long day!
I have a feeling Tuesdays are going to be long days for me all semester now! I had a morning history class (which does not bode well with me because I dislike history so to have it first thing...!) which seemed like forever but passed more quickly than usual because we were watching an "Evolution" film today. The point of it was to show how people approach history with their own presuppositions which bias their interpretation of it, which was definitely conveyed through the cheesy animation - way to go National Film Board of Canada!
Then I headed to chapel, which was a good time of worship and we broke into our small groups for the year. I'm currently leading the missions group that's going to Montréal, but of all the people that showed up today, only 1 or 2 wanted to go there while the rest planned on going to El Salvador! To top that off, the leader for the El Salvador trip wasn't even there to help me answer some questions about it! But that's okay, he'll be there for the meeting on Thursday.
English class came and I realized that tons of people at the college had either gotten engaged over the summer or married. We were doing paragraph structure which led to discussions about how we were totally a bridal college. I was going through in my head all the couples I knew and I got lost somewhere around 10 - sad! Then came the 4 hour break in between my afternoon class and my evening class. I'm pretty used to these, since I had them all last year but now I have friends I can hang out with in between. I did some homework and then installed tons of software on the yearbook computer which got boring pretty quickly.
Afterwards, my friend and I headed out to eat, and just as we were crossing the street across the school, I almost got hit by a car. I probably would have too, but thankfully I was walking slower than he was and that gave the driver just enough time to slam the breaks. Pretty scary though!! And when we finally got to Wendy's, I flustered the cashier and he was so worried that he'd lose his job because he had to void my order three times since he misunderstood me all three times. Somehow, only these things seem to happen to me. When it was finally time for the evening class, I was so exhausted but mustered enough energy to keep awake, which was a tad difficult. Anyways, that was my long day. I don't know why I posted an hour-to-hour synopsis of such a boring day but one day, I can look back and say, "I survived that Tuesday... literally!!"
Thanks to Tracy for posting about me, I much appreciate it! And thanks as well to Matt for being a faithful reader - it's nice to know my random ramblings aren't being completely rejected :) Blessings!
Libellés : college
lundi 8 septembre 2003
Homework
It's back to the grind. Now that I'm back in school, I wish I had more time for ministry. Yet this whole summer, I couldn't wait to get back to school. But maybe that's because I wasn't in the ministry I know I'm being called to.
Something I've always struggled with is catching up to me this year. I found a great post about it though and I hope to change my bad habit before it affects my marks. Reminds me of this song:
"You say you want to start tomorrow
That was yesterday
It's time to go, so don't be late
It's easy to procrastinate
The same excuses that you always use
Sound really lame
You are the only thing that's holdin' yourself back
If you keep waiting you might miss another chance"
- Nate Sallie "It's About Time"
Libellés : songs
dimanche 7 septembre 2003
Retraction
I deleted the last post because it wasn't godly of me to post my real emotions last night. Besides, the only reason I posted it was because it was directed at someone who I knew would read it, but unfortunately, I acted in anger at the time, so I will no longer do such a thing. My apologies.
"Often we are blind. We act as if those around us were not really people like us. If we see them bleed, we pretend they aren't really hurting. If we see them alone, we tell ourselves that they like it that way... Jesus wants us to see their needs, their loneliness, their longings, and he wants to give us the courage to reach out to them."
- Rebecca Pippert "Out of the Saltshaker"
vendredi 5 septembre 2003
In His presence
I guess I shouldn't call it a concert; rather it was a worship service. What an incredible time of praising God! It was one of the best times of worship I've had in a long, long time. Starfield may be a band, but more than that, they are servants of God who are called to bring people into a place where they can truly be in communion with God and with others. I was once again lost in worshipping God in music tonight, to the point where I almost lost my voice. This has happened many times before :) but on nights like this, I could continue singing forever and ever and never grow weary. It gives me such a thirst for heaven that won't be quenched until I get there.
School is over! For now.
Wow, I didn't think I'd be that tired this week since my schedule works out pretty well. Basically, I only have 1 class on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 3 on Tuesday and 2 on Thursday. Pretty tame. But lately, I've had the hardest time trying to get up in the mornings - even 6 alarm clocks don't help. I feel like the biggest sloth around.
I stuck the 100 things as a post yesterday to free up my sidebar for camp pictures and missions pictures from last year. When the yearbook office gets the hard drive back, I'll scan more great pics - including Starfield concert pictures which I'm going to tonight! It'll be good :)
Oh yes, the Friday Five:
1. What housekeeping chore(s) do you hate doing the most?
Everything. Have I said I'm not domestic at all? But the one I hate the most... cleaning up the bathroom. Or washing the dishes. Or vacuuming and sweeping. (The last two are mostly because of my allergies though).
2. Are there any that you like or don't mind doing?
I actually like cleaning my room; it's become a good homework distracter for me.
3. Do you have a routine throughout the week or just clean as it's needed?
Routine? Boy, doesn't my mom wish I did that! Nah, if something doesn't need to be cleaned, why clean it? It's all about time management.
4. Do you have any odd cleaning/housekeeping quirks or rules?
Me? It's almost as if this questionnaire was for the wrong person :) Um, only I can put away my laundry, because I have an order to where everything goes. And only I can clean my room - pretty straightforward.
5. What was the last thing you cleaned?
Not today, because I had school. But a week ago, I cleaned my room and rearranged my furniture. Well I did dust my TV a few days ago too. I'm getting there, very slowly and steadily, but one day maybe I can tackle something bigger!
Libellés : college, Friday Five
jeudi 4 septembre 2003
100 Things about Me
1. I first heard the Gospel when I was in grade nine.
2. I am the least photogenic person there is.
3. I was on the yearbook committee for four years.
4. I had early acceptance into a nursing program but declined it.
5. My favourite flavour/scent for anything is vanilla.
6. I am very blessed that I have a wonderful home church.
7. I technically completed high school in two and a half years.
8. I like going to used book sales.
9. I always pour my milk into the bowl before I add the cereal.
10. Most of my friends were busy when I got baptized and couldn't come.
11. I went to a French school for half a year.
12. The first concert that I went to was Jars of Clay.
13. I have a bad habit of cracking my knuckles.
14. Before grade ten, I had never been anywhere out of my own province.
15. I want to live a very minimalistic life, ideally in a small space.
16. I love anything having to do with organizing - sorting, purging, etc.
17. I do not have any grandparents.
18. I sometimes stutter because I try to communicate all my thoughts at once.
19. My favourite chair when I was younger was a neon pink Elmo chair.
20. I have never liked Japanimation, nor will I ever.
21. I was a playground bully, but only toward annoying boys.
22. I am a terrible orator; I avoid public speaking whenever possible.
23. I am waiting for the day when I can finally travel to western Europe.
24. I speak three languages: English, Teochew, and Vietnamese.
25. I am learning three other languages: French, Cantonese, and Hokkien.
26. I missed my church's groundbreaking because I was at a math class.
27. I avoid tanning at every cost.
28. I read all the books in the Clearwater Crossing series in high school.
29. I took spring and summer courses every year in college.
30. I love watching documentaries of almost any sort.
31. I had the best spaghetti ever in Disneyland.
32. I have been an intern eight times (do professional interns exist?).
33. I've taken out the limit of library books allowed to be borrowed (99).
34. I got 100% on the written portion of my English diploma and Language Arts Achievement Test.
35. I cannot stand cucumbers or bean sprouts.
36. I once considered going into English, Linguistics, or Communications.
37. I love this line: "Until you find something worth dying for, you're not really living."
38. I'm the worst when it comes to staying in contact with people.
39. I learned to handwrite when I was four - I'm sure it looked terrible.
40. Supposedly, I'm an ENFP, but I'm starting to doubt this.
41. I enjoy it when people point out my Canadian accent.
42. I can't use chopsticks; I've faked my way through it my whole life.
43. I dislike the look of desktop icons so I only have one on mine.
44. I hurt my knee playing basketball at the beginning of high school.
45. I am really thrilled with the way my undergrad thesis turned out.
46. I got to help out at a live worship album recording in 2002.
47. I'm a visual and kinesthetic learner - definitely not auditory!
48. I took a year of Koine Greek for fun.
49. I started my own business when I was ten and had a blast.
50. I haven't used a locker since I was in grade eleven.
51. I enjoy auditing classes and hope to take a class each year.
52. I think modesty is important but notice that this isn't always the case at Bible colleges/churches.
53. My cousin and I had identical troll dolls named Barretta and Barrettie.
54. I remember trying to fit a Big Mac into my mouth when I was five.
55. I was in a sign language club in elementary school.
56. I created a science club in junior high; how geeky is that?
57. I don't really follow any television series.
58. My books used to be organized by height, now it is by genre and the alphabet.
59. I absolutely love walking around everywhere, particularly downtown, when I travel to different cities (New York City, Boston, Quebec City, Ottawa, etc.).
60. I learned calligraphy in grade seven from my friend Jenny.
61. I am not as reliable as I'd like to be.
62. My favourite colour is blue.
63. I used to spend about fifteen hours working at church on Sundays.
64. I only got my learner's driving permit because a classmate made me.
65. My favourite worship songs are Power of Your Love and For the Cross.
66. I've sadly become adept at putting bibliographies together.
67. My mom taught me to crochet when I was eight.
68. I used to stay up past my bedtime reading books with a flashlight.
69. I am a very slow reader when it comes to non-fiction.
70. I have been playing the licence plate game since 2005.
71. I miss Wishbone; I would love to have it on DVD.
72. Missions will always be on my heart.
73. Poutine is one of the greatest foods ever invented.
74. I went to the best high school in the city :)
75. I wanted to be an interior designer when I was ten.
76. I enjoy music - especially hymns - with bagpipes.
77. I was in choir for six years yet I can barely carry a tune.
78. I recited the entire St. Crispin's Day speech before my class.
79. I have a strange fear of sunflowers and butterflies.
80. My favourite hymn is Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.
81. I go to the movie theatre maybe once a year, if that.
82. My favourite movies are usually BBC adaptations of classic novels.
83. I used to write letters to authors and some of them wrote back.
84. I've volunteered or worked in four different libraries.
85. I used to write a lot of stories but I didn't finish most of them.
86. My clocks and watches are never on time.
87. I'd like to incorporate more fine arts into my life.
88. I love making layouts on PageMaker and Publisher.
89. I always take sermon notes at church.
90. I don't really remember going to seminary and what the experience was like.
91. I would love to take a course on systematic spirituality (sans any mysticism).
92. I don't drink coffee at all.
93. I really want to be in a position where I can extend hospitality to others.
94. Psalm 56 is my favourite psalm (and not because of the first line).
95. I prefer ten-pin bowling to five-pin.
96. I once made a badminton video using the old VHS camcorders and one of the first versions of Adobe Premiere released.
97. I was the only girl in my Science Olympics group; we placed 4th in the city.
98. I can swallow pills without water.
99. I walk fast and find it difficult to slow down when I'm with others.
100. I hope that one day, people will look back and see my life as one devoted to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and one wholly lived through Him in everything - in life, love, faith, speech and purity.
Libellés : questionnaires
mercredi 3 septembre 2003
Since when...
... do college students get so excited about academic resource materials that they practically form a mob and clear the shelves of this material completely?! Apparently today. What a strange sight that was: watching about a hundred first years get in a tizzy trying to obtain stuff like "how to write a book review". Uhh yes - not something you see everyday.
Something that I need to concentrate on this year: getting back to my first love. I worry that I've been distracted lately from my walk with God and that I'm not totally focusing on developing my relationship with Him. Something only grows if you feed it right? One of the pastors at my church always reminds us to "remember the height from which we first fell" - and that is something I need to tell myself constantly.
Take me back again
To the place where we first met
I know I can't save myself
Grace is here for free
Faith is something we cannot see
I know it's time to lay it down
- By The Tree "Root Of It All"
mardi 2 septembre 2003
Orientation Day!
Reality has sunk in: school has started again. I got to the college early this morning (thanks God for good traffic) to get ready to take pictures for the day, only to discover that the digital camera had dead batteries and the 35mm camera had no film. Great hey? So after a quick run to Co-op, I was quickly snapping away and charging the batteries in the yearbook office. It was a good morning, although I felt sorry for all the first years - they had a two hour lecture in the chapel!! During that time, I hung out with old friends and got my textbooks. It was so good to reconnect with everyone from before and hear about their exciting summers. And surprisingly, a lot of people I didn't think were coming back did! :) The returning students orientation was great too, since the staff knew they didn't have to go through everything again, although I did almost doze off a few times.
Afterwards, I headed to church for a video party! All the video techies (well, whoever could show up) got to watch The Princess Bride and critique it afterwards. It was really fun; I hadn't seen the movie since I was in grade 5 so it was a good chance to refresh my memory (all I remembered were the r.o.u.s. and the machine) and I learned lots about cinematography and setting up scene shots. I hope we do more of those this year, I learn so much from them! Of course, they have to be good, decent movies, not like a lot of the crud coming out nowadays... yuck.
Libellés : college, video production
lundi 1 septembre 2003
VCRs are just... ugh!
Argh. Because I couldn't figure out in time how to preset my VCR, I missed the first episode of Promised Land today, which I've been waiting over half a year to tape. And the silly thing is, my parents were home at that time and they could have taped it for me, but I left the tape in my room. I am awfully frustrated because I came home 10 minutes into the show, and ack, it's just been a mess for me! Now I have to wait another year (or two) to get the first episode on tape. Or maybe I won't get the chance ever again if Vision TV decides not to re-air the series again. Oh boy, what an exciting life I have - getting upset over a missed episode. I just hope Vision will re-air it once again.
Other than that, it was a good day. I took a long walk into downtown with Lissa and it was tiring but worth it. Then we went to the park and hit the market for some food. I had my first taste of Gelato, which was stellar. We also got Slurpees and I introduced her to some Homestar cartoons which she is now addicted to. I really don't feel like going to school tomorrow but I guess I have to. But I'm pretty happy that I'll get to see my friend Christy during her orientation! She and I became really good friends during our missions trip last year, and I've been trying to persuade her for months to come to my school, so I'm thrilled that she's coming!
Libellés : everyday life, media
Ironic how there's no labour on Labour Day
C'est septembre! Wow, this summer just flew by so fast. Now it's back to school. Something I'm not looking forward to: 20 000 more students on the road. Traffic is going to suck.
I found out a while ago that the drummer from my worship team just died suddenly. I didn't post about it then because it didn't sink it yet. It couldn't be true, I just saw him the last time we were on. I remember saying hi to him. It was such an out-of-nowhere email that I received - that he had passed away. I wish I had gotten the time to know him better. He left behind a wife and two kids. He probably had great stories to tell. I wish I had said more than hi to him. I mean, I was on his team for two years (minus when I was on a different team and then switched back)! Why didn't I bother taking the chance to talk to him? And now he is gone. Life is so fragile. You never know when someone will be gone. I guess that's why petty issues from day to day don't really matter in the long run. That's why forgiveness is so important. Because you never know if you'll lose the person that you have a grudge on. And then you'll never get a chance to make things right again. But praise God that Wynn is with Him, playing drums for the Audience of One like never before. Please pray for his family, for comfort and hope that can only come from the One who conquered death.
Libellés : Christian life, church
